The government on Friday clarified that the Centre owes MSMEs only Rs 10,000 crore with most of the dues within the 45-day limit.
The clarification was given by the Expenditure Secretary at the press conference held by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce the third tranche of the economic stimulus package.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said that the government -- Centre and states -- and the private sector together owe MSMEs about Rs 5 lakh crore.
“The exact data is not available. It is coming from state governments and major industries and other agencies… It will be more than Rs 5 lakh crore,” Gadkari said.
He added that he had requested all state governments to ensure they clear all pending MSME dues.
While announcing the first tranche of the economic package, FM Sitharaman had said that all unpaid dues to the MSMEs would be cleared within 45 days. However, she did not mention the figure that Centre owed the sector.
MSMEs employ more than 10 crore people in the country and contribute significantly to the GDP.
First Published: May 15, 2020 6:10 PM IST
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